Runa Skaldmær: September 1st, 1991 - The Hogwarts Express
by apparevestigium
Summary: Embark on a new journey through a familiar world with Hogwarts student Runa Skaldmær.


This work is part of the Appare Vestigium character compendium. Character profiles available here!

Runa Skaldmær: . #Runa  
Ragna Skaldmær: . #Ragna  
Adela Darrow: . #Adela  
Edwin Chambers: . #Edwin  
Artemis Evander: . #Artemis

"Alright, have your trunk? Yes, good. Here, your cloak is a bit askew. There we are. All better. Alright. Are you ready? Nervous? Oh, don't be, Runa just stick with your sisters. They'll look after you," fussed one of the many mothers tending to their little ones as they prepared to board the crowded train. Platform 9¾ was packed to capacity with hundreds of witches and wizards whizzing about beneath the plumes of silver steam billowing from the smokestacks of the Hogwarts Express.

"Come on, mum, she'll be fine!" assured Ragna, the eldest of the three Skaldmær sisters, "we're clogging up the platform. Reidun and I will take good care of her, we promise." Ragna's thick auburn hair was plaited back from her determined face in a set of intricate braids. Her expression faltered slightly as she pulled their mother, Niamh, into a gentle hug. Their mother was a small woman who made for a charming yet stately figure in her flowy silver robes and swirling lavender shawl. Her short ash hair was straight and tidy, and behind thin square spectacles her forlorn eyes betrayed the noble look on her face that she had hoped would conceal her sadness. With a bittersweet smile, Ragna picked up her trunk in one hand, the cage of her owl, Athena, in the other, and boarded the train with eager resolve.

"She'll likely be sorted into Gryffindor, so I can keep a close watch," the middle sister, Reidun, murmured, "goodbye! Love you! See you at Christmas!" She gave Niamh a quick squeeze, adjusting her mother's shawl before following Ragna onto the train. Her black curls bounced as she hopped up from the platform, large ice blue eyes glimmering with excitement. Paprika hooted eagerly as well.

"I don't know what I'll do without you around the house to keep me company. I'll be all alone most days - might just go half mad by the time you get back for the holidays!" Niamh joked, but her eyes brimmed with tears as she wrapped her youngest daughter up in a tight hug, "Be good. I love you so very much."

"I love you too, mum. I know I'll miss you loads, but I'll write to you every week, I promise! Goodbye, mum. I love you! Lots and lots!" sniffed little Runa Skaldmær, bravely fending off tears as she grappled with her trunk (which was more than half her size) and the cage in which Jareth was pruning his speckled feathers. As soon as she stepped onto the train, Runa turned around and waved a last farewell to her mother, who blew her a kiss while several tears now glistened on her apple cheeks.

"Come on, she'll never leave if she can still see you," Reidun whispered, placing a hand on the small of Runa's back and pushing her out of sight.

"Now, would you like to sit with one of us or on your own?" Ragna inquired as they moved through the crowded car, checking each compartment in search of any friendly faces.

"By myself," Runa replied with conviction. No matter how much she admired them, Runa didn't want to start out her time at Hogwarts being branded exclusively as their little sister.

"Of course you do. Well, look, there seem to be two first-years here in, uh - Compartment O," Reidun remarked, pausing and pointing, "want to try this one?"

"Sure!" Runa exclaimed, opening the door with the vigor of someone twice her size. "Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Runa Skaldmær. Y'know I'm not feeling nearly as nervous as I thought I would. And what're your names?" Ragna and Reidun couldn't help but laugh at their sister's bluntness. The two first-years looked even more anxious now than they had before Runa's alarmingly forward entrance.

"We're going to go look for another compartment," Ragna said, tucking her sister's trunk beneath the seat to their left, "but we'll be nearby if you need anything."

"Oh don't worry, I won't," Runa quipped. With a laugh, Ragna gave her a light kiss on the top of her head before disappearing further into the train. Reidun managed a quick wave before she followed suit, calling out, "Goodbye!" as she squeezed between a pair of stocky fire-haired twins in the corridor.

Runa plopped into the seat next to the other first-year girl. She was a tiny, adorable little cherub with a delicate face, large espresso eyes, and a head of luscious wavy chestnut locks. Across from them sat a gangly boy with carefully combed black hair and kind (albeit a tad eerie and sunken) pale blue eyes. He smiled shyly at Runa before returning his gaze to his lap, then out the window, then back to his lap.

Runa herself looked less like an eleven year old girl and more like a cantankerous imp that had leapt out straight out of a storybook. She was scarcely taller than two buckets and as willowy as a blade of grass. Her eyes were light grey and fervently roaming about the train, eager to soak in every detail. A wild tangle of smokey blonde hair sprouted from her head and curled out in every direction before tumbling down her shoulder blades. It was so wispy and unruly it looked as if it could house several birds, some quills, and perhaps even a cherry pastry or two (of which Runa was undyingly fond).

"So, what're your names again? Or did you not say the first time? Sorry, I'm just so excited I can't quite think straight." Runa warbled, swinging her stumpy legs back and forth.

"That's okay, me too. My name is Adela Darrow," the girl replied in a clear, melodic voice. She gave Runa a sweet smile that made her golden cheeks even more charmingly round before both of them turned their attention across the way.

"Edwin. Edwin Chambers," the boy answered, finally looking up and smiling at them again. He looked a bit sickly, Runa thought, but seemed like a gentle soul.

"Either of you have siblings here? Both of my sisters - that's who I was with earlier - are witches too. I come from wizarding families on both sides, though my dad's sort of a...well...it's rather a long story."

"I've got an older brother," replied Edwin, "he's a Ravenclaw."

"Brilliant!" Runa answered. Just then, someone rapped on the glass of their compartment. All three of them turned to see a handsome upperclassman boy in an unmistakably Hufflepuff-gold sweater grinning in the doorway.

"Good morning," he announced.

"Hiya!" Runa chirped in response.

"Hello! I didn't think you'd stop by," stammered Adela, standing and pressing the wrinkles from her skirt. Runa waved cheerfully, while Edwin merely smiled awkwardly up at the boy, clearly even more nervous than before.

"Just wanted to check to make sure you'd made it on the train alright, Adela" the boy continued kindly, "I see you've already made some friends - no surprise there, of course."

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Cedric," Adela answered, smiling. Runa couldn't help but notice her ears were turning a deep shade of pink, "I'll see you later?"

"I'll be waiting at our table," he replied with a wink, and after she gave him a quick hug and promised to look for him, he was off, answering several calls of "Cedric! Get over here already!" from further down the corridor.

"You're certain you'll be in Hufflepuff? Must be nice. I've got no clue. Everyone in my family thinks I'll be sorted into Gryffindor, like Reidun. I think I'm just as smart as Ragna, who's in Ravenclaw, but green really brings out my eyes. Who knows! What about you, Edwin? What house do you want to be sorted into?" Runa babbled, each sentence flying out of her tiny mouth with incredible speed.

"I don't have a preference, I'm just happy to be at Hogwarts. But whatever the Sorting Hat decides, I'm going to do my best to make my house proud," Edwin declared in an unexpected show of firm resolve. "Was that your brother, Adela?"

"Oh! Cedric? No, he's a family friend though, and I've known him for as long as I can remember. I was terribly upset when he got to go away to school and I didn't. So unfair! Those were the worst two years of my entire life," she answered dramatically.

"Cedric...Diggory? I've heard Ragna talk about him, she says all the girls in their year just love him," giggled Runa.

"Really?" Adela inquired, her eyebrows knitting together and her smile faltering into a frown. Judging by the way she stammered and blushed in front of Cedric, Runa wasn't at all surprised by her new friend's thinly veiled annoyance. I like her already, she thought to herself.

Yet another knock sounded at the door before it slid open, a boy who looked their age poking his head inquisitively into the cabin.

"Room for one more?" he asked, flashing the widest smile any of them had ever seen. His fluffy dark hair fell down around his charming eyes - which were the color of cloves, tapered, and shimmering like a harvest moon. A chubby cinnamon rat was perched on his shoulder while nibbling on his earlobe. He didn't seem to mind.

"Of course!" Adela sang, collecting herself. Edwin patted the seat next to him (with a slightly shaky hand). The boy, who was fairly tall for his age, strode into the compartment and put his trunk in the overhead bin with ease before sitting close beside Edwin.

"Artemis Evander," he declared, "First-year. And you all?" The trio rattled off their introductions again as the train lurched forward. Runa peered out the glass beside the compartment door to the other side of the train where students were leaning out their windows, giving a final goodbye to their families. She felt a sharp pang in her chest as she suddenly found herself wishing she'd sat on the other side of the car so as to wave to her mother, but perhaps that'd only start her crying again. With a soft sigh she turned her attention back to the others. The four of them chattered together, eager voices growing louder and the conversation more comfortable as the Hogwarts Express blazed out of London, churning towards the castle that lay waiting for them tucked away in the distant highlands.

When their compartment door opened for the third time, Runa was only vaguely aware of the woman who stood outside it; all of her attention was focused on the massive piles of sweets and treats crammed onto the trolly she pushed. It was all Runa could do to restrain herself in front of her new friends and not leap head first onto the heavenly array of scrumptious delights.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

"Yes please!" the four of them answered in unison.

Several chocolate frogs, many Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, some refreshing iced pumpkin juice, and cauldron cake or two (or six) later, their compartment settled into a hazy, pleasant silence. Edwin was curled up against the window falling in and out of sleep. Adela sat on the floor, legs crossed, stroking her grey Siberian cat (named Vasalisa) who was purring loudly in her lap. Meanwhile, Artemis and Runa were introducing themselves to each other's pets. Jareth blinked up at Artemis with his unsettlingly large inky eyes before releasing an otherworldly warble that made the hair on the back of everyone's neck stand on end (save for Runa's). Edwin bolted awake at the sound, breathing heavily for a few moments before calming himself.

"Don't worry, he's just curious. You can open the door and pet him, if you'd like," Runa offered, "he knows better than to try to fly in here." Jareth beat his wings a few times as Artemis cautiously reached in, but the owl quickly warmed to the boy's excellent head and chest scritching abilities. Artemis's rat, Belvedere, had taken an instant liking to Runa and was scampering about her seat, large dumbo ears bouncing with each bound, plopping her head upon Runa's knee for a pat between laps.

"It's a shame that Muggle rats live such short lives," Adela mused while watching Belvedere's boisterousness with a worried bend to her brow, "isn't there any way for us to start interbreeding them with magical rats so they can live longer?"

"I suppose there must be a reason why not," Artemis answered, "although it might be something as disappointing as no one's tried yet." His eyes were glued to Jareth, in awe of his ethereal beauty. He had a striking heart-shaped white face consumed by his massive black eyes, which were surrounded by dark feathers that made them appear even larger. His body was a mottled dark grey, speckled with delicate white dots like snow fallen on ash.

"He looks quite regal, your Jareth," Edwin noted sleepily.

"Naturally. He's named after a goblin king, after all," Runa answered. The other three shared a confused look, waiting for her to elaborate. She didn't. "He's a lesser sooty owl. It's all owls in my family. Ragna's got a barn owl, and Reidun a cloud-forest pygmy owl. Or is it pygmy forest-cloud? Something like that."

Just then, there was a strange thud at the bottom of the compartment door.

"Whatever could that be?" Artemis questioned, turning to try to get a good look.

"Only one way to see," declared Runa as she leapt to her feet (much to Belvedere's dismay) and slid the door wide open. In the middle of the doorway sat a squat little toad.

"Well, hello there!" Adela greeted the creature, leaning around Runa's legs, "would you like to come in?" After a pause, the toad obliged, hopping twice into the center of the compartment. Runa rolled the door closed again as the four of them all stared at the toad. He stared back, blinking slowly several times before letting out a pleasant croak that Runa swore sounded like a deadpan greeting. Artemis giggled in reply, and Runa knelt to pat the little fellow on his head.

"I wonder if he'd get along with my toad," said Edwin, "though Perdie's rather unsure about traveling, so he has to stay in his tank." Adela and Runa shared a look in which they both clearly agreed that Edwin's pet shared his owner's temperament. Vasalisa observed the toad with a soft chitter.

"Poor thing. I'm sure his owner's missing him," sighed Adela, "are you lost, friend?" The toad let out a mournful croak. Runa picked him up and set him on the seat beside her. Belvedere, aghast at being overlooked, scurried down to the floor and up Artemis's leg.

"Quick, shut the cage!" Runa gasped, and Artemis did so just as Jareth lurched forward to get a better look at the plump ball of fur, who let out a dismayed squeak.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. He's still not used to the idea that not all rodents are food. I've been trying to train him, but -"

"Don't worry," Artemis assured her with a smile before passing her owl to her, who cooed in his strange celestial manner, pleased to be reunited with his owner.

"I suppose we'd better put our robes back on, it seems as if we're nearly there," Adela remarked, her voice wavering with anticipation. The four of them crowded around the window together, cupping their hands around their eyes to block out the light inside the cabin.

"There! The castle! Just there!" Edwin cried as the train came round a tight curve. They all gasped at their first sight of Hogwarts, an enormous shadow silhouetted by moonlight and covered in thousands of windows glowing gold and yellow. Just as quickly as they saw it, it slipped away from view, blocked by the trees and hills that lay between.

"It's even bigger than I'd imagined. And I'd imagined it really big," gaped Runa. They all jumped, pets included, as a disembodied male voice suddenly echoed through the entire train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." The four of them exchanged excited glances.

"So this is it. This is really it!" Adela squeaked, and the other three giggled gleefully as they reached for their robes, slinging them over their shoulders.


End file.
